“The blunt-force message of this period could not be more clear,” writes Rebecca Traister. “Abortion wins elections. So far, this revelation has been understood mostly as a serious problem for Republicans, who seem incapable of pivoting away from their rabidly anti-abortion base despite loss after loss. But regardless of the wins, it’s not as though Democrats can coast.
The party is on the correct side of an issue that Americans have shown themselves desperate to vote on. But many Establishment Democrats, especially at the national level, still don’t seem to understand why the issue matters so much to so many — ignorance that is evident in the way members of the press and the political class have continued to underestimate voters’ commitment to it. Democrats are now trying to add abortion ballot initiatives to every state they can but have yet to display anything beyond a superficial understanding of the connection between abortion and the rare trust they have gained from voters, who have poured out for them in record numbers since Dobbs — trust that could evaporate if they do not make plans to act on it.”
Read more from Rebecca Traister’s latest at the link in bio.
Photo: Sue Ogrocki / AP
